


burgundy, near black

by peachcitt



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: ..........listen. just hear me out. just listen., Adrien Agreste Wearing Lipstick, Aged-Up Character(s), Co-workers, Designer Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Established Relationship, F/M, Lipstick & Lip Gloss, Model Adrien Agreste, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:40:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27893203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peachcitt/pseuds/peachcitt
Summary: The makeup artist had chosen a deep burgundy, near black lipstick that matched the color of the dress perfectly. It was glossy, perfectly lined, and absolutely stunning. Marinette found that her eyes kept returning to his lips, to the shape of them.ori cannot get adrien wearing lipstick out of my head. it haunts me (and marinette)
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 37
Kudos: 197





	burgundy, near black

**Author's Note:**

> enjoy :)

Marinette stared in rapt attention, eyes fixed on the way the folds of the fabric fell. She bit on her thumbnail as she watched the lines of the skirt, squinting, eyebrows furrowed.

She’d worked on this design for months. And, yes, she’d worked it to near perfection, spending long nights at the studio with bloodshot eyes zeroed in on microscopic mistakes in the stitching, the alignment. Now, under all the lights, cameras, and watchful gazes, the work seemed to pay off.

When the cameras paused to allow Adrien a breath, Marinette went over to the screens showing the shots taken so far - just to be sure. She wouldn’t be able to bear it if she trusted her eyes alone only to find out much later that the camera had been less forgiving.

But as she looked over the screen, it all seemed to be doing just what Marinette had wanted it to do. The ruffles at the high collar were delicately arranged so that the bright burnt orange interior of the fabric peeked out from the deep burgundy exterior. The folds of fabric at the slit in the leg of the skirt did the same, and Marinette saw that in a good portion of the shots, Adrien had made sure to move the dark skirts in such a way that exposed the textured orange on the inside of the dress. Even the fit of the dress looked stunning - smooth around his chest and waist, the skirt flared flatteringly, the open back not even causing gaping at the sides. 

Finally, Marinette let herself relax.

There was a burst of laughter, and she looked over to Adrien - smiling bright and radiant. One of the makeup artists had said something, she supposed, as they were powdering his nose and fixing the gold glitter by his eyes. She felt herself smile at the sound, at the sight of his shoulders relaxed, and his eyes flicked over to her, as if sensing her gaze. His lips twitched up - just the slightest at the corners - and then he turned back to the makeup artists.

As the shoot started up again, Marinette let herself sit down as she observed, and she also let herself look at things that were not her own design. She looked around at the set - plain white. That did make sense; this was for the front page, so everything had to be bright and shiny, while still being simple enough to add text on top of.

Her eyes moved away from the outskirts of the set to land on the subject of the shoot once again. She spent just a moment looking over the dress again - just to be sure - before she moved her gaze up to Adrien’s face. 

His expressions were easy and relaxed - neutral while still seeming to convey some sort of secret emotion. The perfect model.

She took a moment to appreciate the makeup. She’d kept her brief pretty vague, only saying that she’d wanted something fresh that incorporated the rich colors of the dress, and she was extremely pleased with what the artist had done with it. 

There was the glitter around his eyes, of course, but it was tastefully done - only used to create a thin wing, like eyeliner. The eyeshadow itself was simple as well, most likely only orange tones to deepen the crease, and a gold-tone highlighter on the brow bone and inner corner. The face makeup was fresh and dewy, soft while still drawing attention to the sharp lines in Adrien’s face - in the line of his nose, his cheekbones, his jaw. 

The real showstopper - in terms of makeup, of course - was the lipstick. Most makeup artists who worked with Adrien liked to keep his lips neutral, if a little dewy. No intense colors.

But this makeup artist had chosen a deep burgundy, near black, that matched the color of the dress perfectly. It was glossy, perfectly lined, and absolutely stunning. Marinette found that her eyes kept returning to his lips, to the shape of them.

She rubbed her rough thumbnail against her forefinger before beginning to chew on the nail again. Her eyes were fixed on the deep burgundy on his lips, the peek of straight white teeth through his parted lips, the light bouncing off the gloss on his lips.

Another break was called. She heard the photographer say they might have enough shots.

Marinette jumped out of her seat, wiping her thumbnail on her slacks, ignoring the snag of it as she walked over to Adrien. He looked away from the makeup artist fluttering near him as she walked over, green eyes catching on her, burgundy lips turning up into a small smile.

“Can I speak with you?” Marinette asked, and he nodded, turning to face her completely. She cleared her throat. “In private.” She jerked her head to the emergency exit - the one that led out to a back alley.

“Of course,” Adrien said, and his eyebrows furrowed in concern.

She nodded, keeping her head held high as she led him to the emergency exit. They walked out into the brisk autumn air, and both their eyes stayed firm on the door until it closed.

As soon as it did, Adrien turned back to her, kind eyes soft and imploring. “Marinette,” he said gently, “is there something-”

She cut him off short, grabbing his face in her hands and slamming their lips together. Adrien let out a muffled grunt, which quickly formed into a moan as she backed him up into the bricks, up on her tip-toes and pulling him down to her even as she kept him pinned there on the wall.

_ “Marinette,”  _ he sighed into her mouth, and she breathed in the sound, capturing it with her lips as one of her hands went down to slip underneath the slit in the skirt, pressing her palm against his bare thigh. “God, Marinette-” he started again, and she pulled away just the slightest, looking up at him.

He was breathing heavily, his eyebrows furrowed, his eyes searching hers - open, vulnerable, heady. 

Her eyes flicked down to his lips. 

“You’re going to be the death of me,” he whispered, and then he was kissing her again, grabbing her face with his hands and walking her back just a step so that he could maneuver her around so that she was the one with her back pressed against the wall. She took the position gladly, and when he bent down just the slightest to press his hands on the backs of her thighs, she obediently hopped up and wrapped her legs around his waist.

She dug one hand into his hair, the other flush on his bare back, feeling the heat of his skin. He held her steady against the wall, and he pressed closer and closer until she was certain the lines between them had begun to blur.

“What did I do,” Adrien asked between heated kisses, “to deserve this?”

She nipped his bottom lip with her teeth, feeling her lips pull into an embarrassed sort of smile. “You should wear lipstick more,” she said softly, and he pulled away just the slightest amount, blinking in surprise.

And then he burst out laughing, easing her out of his arms as gently as he could while losing his breath to laughter. 

“What?” Marinette asked, trying her best to see his face even as he doubled over. “You look hot, and I think that’s a perfectly valid thing for me to think and react over as your girlfriend-”

She stopped herself short, hands flying up to slap over her mouth as Adrien stood up straight, exposing his face to her.

His burgundy, near black lipstick was smeared.

So, so smeared.

It had been so neat, and now it was.

Now it was.

“You’ve got it, too,” he said with a laugh, and Marinette rubbed the back of her hand over her mouth. When she pulled it away, there was a smear of burgundy, near black lipstick across her hand.

“Oh, my God,” she said.

He opened his mouth to say something, but then the emergency exit door opened, and one of the interns poked their head out. Marinette squeaked and hid her mouth behind her hand, but Adrien just grinned, looking at the intern.

The intern’s eyebrows shot up.

“Yes?” Adrien asked. Marinette could feel her face burning.

“Uh. The photographer actually wanted a couple more shots.” 

“Oh, God,” Marinette whispered, squeezing her eyes shut.

“We’ll be right in,” Adrien assured, and the intern nodded, ducking back into the studio. The door closed with a thud.

There was a space of silence.

“We have to do something,” Marinette tried, but Adrien just shook his head. He looked like he was enjoying this situation way too much.

“There’s nothing we can do out here,” he said, still smiling, and Marinette glared at him. He let out a burst of laughter, holding his hands up. “Hey, don’t look at me like that. I’m not the one who dragged my romantic partner who was in full makeup for a photoshoot into a back alley just to kiss the life out of them.”

Marinette dragged her hands over her face. He was right. She knew he was right. “We were just doing so well,” she groaned, and he pulled her into a hug, rocking her gently back and forth. She made sure that only her hair was touching the dress, for fear of makeup transfer.

“They were going to find out eventually. I’m pretty sure some already had inklings,” he said, and she nodded.

“Yeah,” she said, nodding again. “You’re right.”

“And to be fair,” he said, pulling away and smoothing her hair out of her face, “I very much enjoyed being attacked with a kiss by my normally very composed girlfriend. I don’t regret going along with that in the slightest, because it was very nice.”

Marinette looked up at his smeared lipstick, at the rough and sultry feel it gave to the look. “It was very nice,” she said, leaning up on her tip-toes and pecking him lightly on the lips. “And you know what? It could look worse. This makes you look…” She trailed off, feeling her cheeks start to heat up. “Ah, well, uh, regardless, we should head back in, right? You go on first. I’ll go in a minute.”

“Alright, bug,” he said, tracing a finger along her cheekbone. He seemed to take her embarrassment for nerves, leaning down to look her in the eyes. “Hey, it’ll be okay, you know? I’m sure no one will be too upset.”

“Thanks, Adrien,” she said, and he gave her one last smile before slipping back into the studio. 

Once he was gone, she fanned herself lightly, shaking her head and breathing out a long breath. She did her best to wipe off the lipstick still on her face with the inside of her shirt - which was luckily thick enough that the pigment didn’t show through the material. She checked her reflection in the screen of her phone before taking a deep breath and walking back into the studio.

The shoot had begun again, and she breathed out a sigh of relief. The makeup artists were truly amazing - the fact that they could fix all that smeared lipstick so quickly? Marinette severely hoped they were being paid handsomely for their skills.

And then she actually saw Adrien. 

She choked on her spit so violently that one of the interns had to come over and pat her lightly on the back.

Because Adrien’s lipstick, burgundy, almost black, was still smeared. Yes, it seemed to be touched up - made to look darker in his actual lip area - but it was still obvious that he’d just been making out rather enthusiastically with someone.

His eyes flicked over to her - smug, content, mischievous - before flicking back to the camera, that same expression he’d given her still on his face, his lips turned up into the hints of a satisfied smile. The camera shutter sounded.

And somehow, Marinette knew exactly which shot was going to be used for the cover of the magazine.

  
  


\---

  
  


She’d been right. 

The team had looked through all the shots, and they’d chosen that exact one - Adrien looking smugly into the camera, dark lipstick smudged in a way that was made to look artful, but was quite obvious to tell real lips had done most of the work. 

Marinette stared up at the huge finished print that had been hung up in the atrium of their building, arms wrapped around herself. The news had spread fast across the company, about the true nature of their relationship as well as the true nature of the smudged lipstick in this month’s cover photo.

But she couldn’t even be upset about that - it had been her fault, after all, but it also-

It was also  _ so  _ satisfying.

Sure, it was a little inconvenient to now have everyone wanting to pry into their business and to have to assure their bosses twice over that they would continue to be professional, but there was just something so thrilling to know that everyone  _ knew.  _ That anyone who looked at Adrien with lingering eyes would know that he was taken.

Very publicly taken by the same woman who had smeared his burgundy, near black lipstick for the entire world to see.

“Still think I should wear more lipstick?” Adrien teased beside her, fingers tangling with hers, and she grinned.

_ “God,  _ yes.” 

**Author's Note:**

> OKAY LISTEN. JUST LISTEN. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY EXCEPT YOU'RE WELCOME
> 
> something something i thought about adrien wearing lipstick once and the thought wouldn't leave me alone something something it's four thirty in the morning now something made a new playlist to fit the vibe of this fic something did way more extensive research as to what i wanted the dress adrien was modeling to look like even though the description of it is so so short something something adrien lipstick hot
> 
> thank you so much for reading this purely self-indulgent fic ily sweet dreams


End file.
